The rural domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking program (rural program) is authorized by 34 U.S.C. 12341

The Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women awarded Carter's Compassionate Transitional & Supportive Housing (doing business as Hagar's House) $500,000 under the Rural Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking Assistance Program (CFDA 16.589) on October 1, 2025.

The award funds identification, assessment, and response to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking in rural Mississippi communities. The recipient delivers victim counseling, legal assistance, community education, and crime prevention strategies. The funding obligates $500,000 for the period October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2028, with place of performance in Brandon, Mississippi. The assistance type is a Project Grant.

Rural program funds are used to support programs that: 1) identify, assess, and appropriately respond to child, youth, and adult victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking in rural communities; 2) establish and expand victim services in rural communities to child, youth, and adult victims; 3) increase the safety and well-being of women and children in rural communities, by (a) dealing directly and immediately with domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking; and (b) creating and implementing strategies to increase awareness and prevent these crimes; and 4) develop, expand, implement, and improve the quality of sexual assault forensic medical examination or sexual assault nurse examiner programs. Grantees must use at least one of the following strategies in implementing their projects: 1) implement, expand, and establish cooperative efforts and projects among law enforcement officers, prosecutors, victim service providers, and other related parties to investigate and prosecute incidents of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking; 2) provide treatment, counseling, advocacy, legal assistance, and other long-term and short-term victim and population specific services to adult and minor victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking in rural communities; 3) work in cooperation with the community to develop education and prevention strategies directed toward such issues; 4) develop, enlarge, or strengthen programs addressing sexual assault; and 5) develop programs and strategies that focus on the specific needs of victims of who reside in remote rural and geographically isolated areas. Through this new OVW rural program project, carters compassionate transitional and supportive housing, in partnership with second chance outreach learning center, office of violence prevention & trauma recovery (ovptr), voice of calvary ministries will implement the rural domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking program. This victim service project addresses the followingpurpose areas:1, 2, 3 and 4 for copiah, forest, hinds, lincoln, madison, rankin and warren counties in mississippi. Specific activities will include: 1) providing transitional housing and emergency shelter for victims; 2) delivering trauma-informed counseling for adult and child victims; 3) expanding sexual assault nurse examiner (sane) services in at least two rural counties; and 4) facilitating legal advocacy for victims. During the project, the recipient will develop the following products: awareness materials, training materials, brochures, flyers, and ADS.